Kennel permit denied

At their Monday meeting, selectmen unanimously denied an application for a non-commercial kennel license to Kathleen Solitro, who was hoping to breed Old English Bull dogs at her home on Driftwood Drive.

Solitro currently owns two bulldogs and would like to breed them annually, beginning in 2013 when the female turned 18 months old. Old English Bulldog litters can have up to seven puppies. Solitro said she would sell the puppies when they reached eight to 12 weeks old. She was seeking the kennel permit in the event that she had to house one or more of the pups past that age, she said.

“My neighbors won’t even know when the puppies are born,” she said. “I am very meticulous, clean and neat.”

Animal control officer Mike Sendrowski told the board he had no objection to the kennel license from an animal control perspective. The house and property appeared neat and orderly, and Solitro had made plans for disposing of the dogs’ waste. His only recommended change to Solitro’s plans was to move a fenced-in exercise pen away from a neighbor’s house and from view of the road. If the dogs can see traffic and pedestrians, they are more likely to bark, Sendrowski said.

Barking dog complaints are a significant problem in town, second only to loose dog complaints, he told the board.

About a dozen neighbors turned out at the meeting to object to the license, citing the closeness of the neighborhood’s houses that sit on one-third acre lots.

“So like it or not, what happens in my neighbor’s yard, happens to me,” Driftwood Dr. resident Robert Fitch said.

A petition against the kennel license was signed by 22 residents who were concerned that Solitro could end up keeping as many as nine adult dogs on the property, while staying in compliance with her permit.

Ernest Broman, a five-year resident of the neighborhood worried that a kennel would be a noise and sanitation nuisance.

Selectman Anthony Renzoni commended Solitro’s intentions to start a home-based business. He didn’t want to stifle anyone who was trying to make a living, he said, but he didn’t think it was a good location for a kennel.

Solitro was disappointed in the decision, but said she will still breed her bulldogs to the extent allowed under residential zoning.